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The Hatbox Letters
By Beth Powning. 2021
In this beautiful and deeply moving novel, a young widow struggles to come to terms with her solitary life in…
the rambling Victorian house she shared until recently with her husband and children in semi-rural New Brunswick.It is in this house, surrounded by heirloom gardens and the gentle sounds of a river, that Kate Harding, 52, faces her second winter since the untimely death of her husband. Her children, now grown, are living away, and Kate is truly on her own. In her living room are several hatboxes filled with letters and other ghostly ephemera, recently brought by her sister from the attic of their grandparents’ 18th-century Connecticut house. Their sweet mustiness tinges the air and makes Kate dream of her childhood and of her beloved grandparents. She remembers the sense of permanence and refuge that she felt in their apple-scented world, as well as, more recently, with her husband. As she begins to read the hatbox letters, she discovers that what to a child seemed a serene and blissful marriage was in fact founded on a tragic event. As Kate’s eyes clear to the truth of the past, a new tragedy unfolds, and her own house, filled with the shared detritus of marriage and motherhood, becomes the refuge where Kate can connect the strands of her unravelled life.In The Hatbox Letters — which is both sad and exhilarating, touching and illuminating — Beth Powning offers readers an unforgettable story of love, grief and renewal, both past and present, as well as her extraordinary perceptions of the natural world.Excerpt from The Hatbox LettersThe birds rise with a muted thunder, their wings serrate the light. For an instant, a peregrine falcon zigzags through the flock. Then it drops from the belly of the rising bird-cloud. In its talons is a sandpiper, crumpled like a ball of paper. It is hard to decide which drama to observe, the escape of the falcon with its prey or the flock’s display as the birds rush seaward like a single entity, a ballooning flame that rises and falls, expands and implodes, one instant silver and the next black. The flock speeds back towards the beach, passes close to the watchers, makes a dazzling turn, fast as thought. Then, with a diminishing roar, the birds waver, their legs drop, stretch. They touch down. They fluff their feathers, Kate observes, the way humans pull coats up around necks after a shock. Trying to put ourselves back as we were.Papa's mechanical fish
By Candace Fleming, Boris Kulikov. 2013
In the summer of 1851, with encouragement and ideas provided by his family, an inventor builds a working submarine and…
takes his family for a ride. Includes notes about Lodner Phillips, the real inventor on whom the story is based. For grades K-3 and older readers. 2013Falling out of time
By David Grossman. 2014
Walking Man announces to his wife that he is setting out in search of their son, who has died. As…
Walking Man travels, other townspeople join him in search of their own loved ones. They all question whether death is truly the end of a person. Translated from Hebrew. 2014How they croaked: the awful ends of the awfully famous
By Georgia Bragg, Kevin O'Malley. 2011
Guide to the deaths of nineteen notable people begins with King Tut, who died of malaria. Also covers King Henry…
VIII, whose corpse exploded; George Washington; Marie Curie, who literally worked to death; and Albert Einstein. Includes facts, oddities, and resources. Some violence. For grades 5-8 and older readers. 2011En busca de Klingsor: Novela (Esenciales)
By Jorge Volpi, Jorge Volpi Escalante. 2008
El matemático Gustav Links relata la historia del teniente Francis P. Bacon, enviado por los aliados en los tribunales de…
Nuremberg para encontrar y llevar a la justicia a Klingsor, un científico atómico nazi. Con su conocimiento de la matemática y la física, Bacon tiene que encontrar el paradero del misterioso Klingsor con poca informaciónA spotlight for Harry (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
By Eric A. Kimmel, Jim Madsen. 2009
Story based on childhood events of Harry Houdini (1874-1926), who became a famous magician and escape artist. Describes Harry and…
his brother Dash learning to walk a tightrope after going to the circus with their family for the first time. For grades 2-4. 2009Jazz Age Josephine: Dancer, singer--who's that, who? Why, that's MISS Josephine Baker, to you!
By Marjorie Priceman, Jonah Winter. 2012
A tribute to the life of the iconic jazz entertainer depicts her disadvantaged youth in a segregated America, her unique…
performance talents, and the irrepressible sense of style that helped her overcome racial barriers. For grades K-3Dirt road: A Novel
By James Kelman. 2016
The story of a teenage boy, who travels with his father from Scotland to Alabama to visit with relatives after…
the death of his mother and sister, and becomes swept up into the world of zydeco and bluesThe fabulous feud of Gilbert & Sullivan
By Jonah Winter, Richard Egielski. 2009
In the late nineteenth century, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Sullivan, who write operas together for a theater called Topsy-Turvydom, have…
a falling-out when Mr. Sullivan refuses to write music for another ridiculous story that is like all the others. Caldecott Medalist Richard Egielski teams up with Jonah Winter for a story about how fights sometime make a stronger friendship (and beautiful music to boot!). For grades K-3. 2009Our neighbor is a strange, strange man (Orchard HC Picture Books)
By Inc. Staff Scholastic, Tres Seymour. 1999
Mummies: the newest, coolest, and creepiest from around the world
By Shelley Tanaka. 2005
Discusses the ways cultures in various climates and time periods have preserved the dead. Describes the process of mummification in…
the Andes mountains and dry deserts of South America, the Egyptian desert, glaciers of Canada and Italy, European peat bogs, Siberian ice, and Chinese sand dunes. For grades 3-6. 2005Wild science: amazing encounters between animals and the people who study them
By Martin Kratt, Victoria Miles. 2004
Ten wildlife biologists describe their adventures studying and rescuing a blue whale, marmot, polar bear, sea otter, manatee, silver-haired bat,…
northern gannet, leatherback sea turtle, grizzly bear, and grey wolf. They discuss their career interests, research projects, and facts about the animals. For grades 5-8. 2004The boy who drew birds: a story of John James Audubon / by Jacqueline Davies
By Jacqueline Davies, Melissa Sweet. 2004
Recounts how passionately the young Frenchman who made his home in America loved birds. Describes the numerous drawings and paintings…
he made of birds, their nests, and eggs and reveals the way he determined whether migrating birds return to the same place in the spring. For grades 2-4. 2004Wings of madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the invention of flight
By Paul Hoffman. 2003
Author of The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (RC 48056) examines the life and work of Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932), the…
Brazilian-born aeronautical pioneer whose dirigibles captivated Paris. Hoffman highlights Santos-Dumont's aerial accomplishments, role in the race for manned flight, and despair at the destructive power of militarized aircraft during World War I. 2003Between each line of pain and glory: my life story
By Gladys Knight. 1997
Knight recalls the ups and downs of her life. She describes her struggle to become well known, first along with…
the Pips and later as a solo performer, and discusses her family, her various addictions, her failed marriages, and her feelings of isolation within the world of show businessI gave Thomas Edison my sandwich
By Floyd C Moore, Floyd C. Moore, Donna K. Nelson. 1995
It's a very special day for Floyd when the train carrying William Taft, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison pulls into…
Iron City. Floyd's class goes to greet the important men, and he gets a great spot in the crowd. He is so excited he can barely talk when Thomas Edison speaks to him! Floyd gets a chance to do something nice for Edison, an incident that Floyd remembers for the rest of his life. For grades 2-4Grace
By Robert Lacey. 1994
The author examines the image of a beautiful fairy-tale princess who did not live happily ever after. Lacey chronicles the…
story of Grace Kelly's abbreviated life through her American phase, depicting the actress with a cool, classy facade and a tawdry private life. When the Hollywood star married her European prince, the location of her fantasy life changed, but reality began to destroy the portrait. BestsellerAnn-Margret: my story
By Todd Gold, T. Gold, Ann-Margret. 1994
Nominated twice for an Academy Award, Ann-Margret has sung, danced, and acted in movies, on television, and on stage including…
(at the age of fifty) a performance with the Rockettes. After a brief romance with Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret married actor Roger Smith. She discusses how they remained together despite her battle with alcohol, a serious accident, and negative press about their relationship. BestsellerDear Dad: letters from an adult child
By Louie Anderson. 1989
Stand-up comic Louie Anderson's letters to his deceased father are an effort to exorcize the demons of a childhood spent…
with an alcoholic father. For Anderson, a member of Adult Children of Alcoholics, his letters were a journey of self-discovery in which he came to understand that his own addiction to food stemmed from his father's addiction to alcohol. Some strong languageOn our own: independent living for older persons (Golden Age Bks.)
By Ursula A Falk, Falk, Ursula A. Falk. 1989
Americans cherish their independence, and so it is difficult when age raises the spectre of dependence. Falk suggests ways in…
which older people can continue to live successfully on their own. She outlines meal programs, alternative living arrangements, family support systems, leisure activities, and employment opportunities. 1989